The effect of initiating trauma informed care on clients' perception of safety
Date
2012
Authors
Radmore, J. Laural, author
Amell, James W., advisor
Dakin, Emily, committee member
Kuk, Linda, committee member
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Abstract
In 2011, the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless (CCH) initiated the integration of Trauma Informed Care (TIC) concepts into the agency philosophy, policies, and procedures. Trauma Informed Care (TIC) is a model of agency operation and service delivery based on the concepts of Trauma Theory that assumes a universal trauma history in order to make services inclusive for trauma survivors and provides physical and emotional safety for the clients seeking services. The first step was to gain support from the administration with the second step in the praxis being to train every CCH employee, regardless of job title and full-time status, in the concepts of Trauma Theory and Trauma Informed Care. This involved full day trainings in non-violent crisis intervention and on-line trainings in trauma for employees with supplemental training for supervisors in order to make TIC part of the hiring process and the daily conversation in meetings, group and individual supervision with employees, program development, and service delivery. The final step was to introduce trauma screening, which began with pilot programs in July of 2012 and will be integrated into the remainder programs by the end of 2013. Previous studies have found that the homeless population experiences trauma at a higher rate than the housed population (Clarke, Williams, Percy, & Kim,1995, Kim, Ford, Howard, & Bradford ,2010, & Perron, Alexander-Eitzman, Gillespie, & Pollio, 2008). They also report higher instances of childhood trauma than the general population. Due to these facts, it is probable that integrating TIC into service agencies that serve the homeless will benefit the clients' feelings of safety, thus leading to better access to services. This study explores the effect of initiating a trauma informed care model on clients' perception of physical and emotional safety at the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. Moreover, this study examines whether clients reported feeling more physically and emotionally safe after a year of TIC integration into the CCH organizational culture. Since 2004, CCH has conducted an annual Customer Satisfaction Survey that is derived from the Mental Health Statistics Improvement Program (MHSIP) Consumer Survey. The survey was designed to gather the most valuable information with the least amount of burden. The intention was to use the collected data to guide program improvements. Survey items assess consumer perceptions regarding the appropriateness of services, the quality of services, their participation in treatment, and outcomes they have experienced. In an effort to better assess the level of Trauma Informed Care at The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, three new questions were added to the 2011 Customer Satisfaction Survey. Respondents were asked if CCH staff inquired about traumatic or difficult experiences. They were also asked to rate their level of agreement with statements regarding physical and emotional safety at CCH. The answers to these questions on the 2011 survey served as a baseline regarding how clients perceived safety before any TIC initiatives were introduced at the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. In this study, the 2011 results were compared to the 2012 results in order to see if the introduction of Trauma Informed Care at the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless had an effect on perceptions of physical and emotional safety among CCH clients. This study found that CCH participants reported high levels of physical safety in 2011 and 2012. Similarly, CCH participants indicated high perceptions of emotional safety in 2011 to 2012. This study also compared the perception of physical and emotional safety of respondents who indicated that they were asked about traumatic events in their lives with the perception of physical and emotional safety of respondents who indicated that they were not asked about traumatic events in their lives. The respondents who indicated that they were asked about traumatic events in their lives reported higher feelings of both physical and emotional safety that respondents who indicated that they were not asked about traumatic events in their lives to a level of statistical significance.
Description
Rights Access
Subject
Colorado Coalition for the Homeless
homeless
homeless services
trauma
trauma informed care
trauma theory